


Come Home at the End of the Day

by ryanhasao3



Category: Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood & Manga
Genre: Adult Edward Elric, Anal Sex, Consensual Sex, Domestic Fluff, Edward Elric Swears, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Explicit Sexual Content, Fluff, Fluff and Smut, Humor, Hurt Roy Mustang, Kink Negotiation, M/M, Oral Sex, Pining, Post-Canon, Post-Coital, Relationship Discussions, Returning Home, Smut, Spanking, emotionally not physically, he needs a hug, he pines okay he's a piner
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-03
Updated: 2019-07-03
Packaged: 2020-06-02 11:49:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,706
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19440871
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ryanhasao3/pseuds/ryanhasao3
Summary: "Roy sees the only logical thing that could've come from Ed's return home - a catastrophic mess."Ed has been away for a week on a mission and Roy has been miserably not-pining. He's finally back, and Roy is ready to lovingly embrace the chaos yet again.Read also: I can't write summaries for the life of me. Roy pines and Ed comes back home. It's fluffy and adorable and they are very in love.





	Come Home at the End of the Day

**Author's Note:**

> This was super fun for me to write, probably more than any of my other published works so far. It was initially supposed to be for 5/20 but because I am a dumbass who forgot time is a thing that exists and influences reality, I didn't actually start working on it until the day before and then and then and then life happens. Either way, it's here now and I hope everyone who reads it enjoys it as much as I do.
> 
> Title is taken from "That Would Be Enough" in the Hamilton musical because I am a theatre nerd who can't title things and has officially given up.
> 
> Thank you so very much to the amazing TinyInsignificantHumans for betaing this for me. It's the first time I've had a beta and it was great to work with them and I'd love to do it again sometime. 
> 
> Without any further rambling, please enjoy!

To all appearances, Roy is sat behind his desk, focusing on his paperwork.

Realistically, he’d been tapping his foot for four days, wringing his fingers for three, and constantly checking the clock for two. Today, he’s been obsessively scouring urgent documents that come his way, any and all tragedies announced in the papers, and every single phone call.

Ed had been gone for a week on a case, and he is coming home any day now.

When the clock strikes twelve, he drops the latest sheet of newspaper and the document enclosing it, hiding it from straying eyes, and kicks himself to his feet for a not-so-well-earned break. He creaks the door open and leans against the frame with a carefully-constructed smile on his face – all is well here, folks. Roy Mustang is in the building, confident as always, ready to get things done.

“Ready for your lunch break, sir?”

“Not just yet, Lieutenant,” he replies to Riza, smile widening as he nods his head towards his men. “But by the looks of it, everyone else is. You can all head out if you so wish, gentlemen.”

Havoc punches the air and drops the tic-tac-toe puzzle he’d been passing between himself and Breda, lopsided grin slipping back into place. “Yes! Stacey’s!”

“She’s not gonna say yes, Jean,” Breda says, folding the document he’d been pretending to read. “No matter how much you beg.”

“She might.”

“Hasn’t worked the last few times.”

“It might work today, you don’t know.”

“No, it won’t.”

“You don’t know-“

“Havoc, no woman in her right mind would say yes after all the effort you’ve put in,” Riza cuts in, a thin smile directed at him. “It’s desperate and a little pathetic, like a dog with a bone. Give it up and find someone in your own league.”

The silence that answers her lasts all but two seconds before Havoc wails in mock-despair and the room is filled with laughter. “You heard the lady, Jean. It won’t work.”

They leave, presumably to watch Havoc continue to harass the poor girl he’s focused on this week, and all settles into a comfortable silence. The noise, the jabbing, joking comments, had all combined with the growing panic pressing down on his amygdala at the continuing radio silence from Ed and it was enough to drive a weaker man insane.

It’s not as if he’d expected Ed to stay in touch while he was away. The man’s not exactly eager to pick up a phone, and Roy’s not exactly eager to force that. Ed is independent, he’s individual and he’s active. If he’s away on a mission, he cuts off ties with everyone in his personal life until it’s completed. He’s passionate, with a single-minded focus that makes him terrifyingly powerful. It’s one of the things Roy loves about him, and if encouraging it means he has to go a few weeks without contact, he’ll sacrifice that in a heartbeat.

But that doesn’t change the fact that he misses him, and that the silence presses down hard on that latent panic until he feels ready to implode.

“Colonel, you haven’t eaten,” Riza murmurs to him, opening her bag to pull out a sandwich she’d packed for what was, most likely, going to turn out to be a long-planned intervention.

“I’m only tired, Lieutenant,” he replies, settling into Havoc’s discarded seat. “Headache.”

“He’ll be back soon, sir,” she says, giving him a controlled smile when his eyes snap up. “I’m sure he’s already finished the work and hung around town to get souvenirs, eat his fill, wreak a little havoc. He’ll be back soon.”

“I’m fine, Riza.”

She smiles a little softer, eyes snapping back and forth as she examines his features. “Of course, sir. I’m just saying – so is he.”

He nods, mostly as an empty promise. He’d never been one to struggle to keep food down before – even long before beginning a relationship with Ed, he’d had a taste for good food often, and God knows he'd gotten at least his fair portion of the food since Ed began wanting to share his table. But in the week since Ed had left for his mission, everything had all but tasted like sand. Scorched sand, falling into the cracks of his mind and his belongings to appear and shock him into terror at the slightest warning.

He’d never dream of tying the younger man down – not unless specifically requested to and after a long evening of discussion – and he’d never ask Ed to consider staying still, moving in with him and keeping himself within arm’s reach forever. Part of what he loves about the man, aside from the bubbling passion for anything and everything around him, is that fluidity. He’s everything, literally; he’s everywhere, always. Roy loves how much Ed travels because, in addition to the souvenirs he brings back and the inevitable welcome-home sex, he comes home. If you love someone, let them go, and if they love you too, they’ll come back.

And Ed always comes back.

But the nerves still persist. Roy has realised in the past, over drinks and meals, across tables and bars, that part of him worries that this time he won’t. That this time Ed will be a little too reckless, a little too excited to jump into action, and the action will kill him. Or, worse, that this time Ed won’t want to come home. That he’ll flee to another city, another country, and never return.

It’s insecurity, nothing more. He knows it isn’t true, won’t be true, can’t be true. He knows Ed loves him back. They’ve spoken in depth about their problems. Ed’s nightmares of blood and desecrated flesh, his anxieties of whether he’s good enough, his fears that he’ll never belong, never have anyone to belong to, never have someone who belongs to him. Roy’s nightmares of sand and ash, the depressive spirals he can very easily topple into, his own fears of belonging, of loss. They both know how much they mean to the other.

It’s insecurity. That’s all. But it’s still there.

“Roy,” Riza sighs, suddenly stood inches from him, leaning down with a hand resting on his shoulder. He lifts his eyes, not bothering with the façade that he normally paints carefully, permanently, onto his face. “Eat something. Take a breath. Go home early if you need to.”

“And take the paperwork, I suppose.”

“Of course,” she smiles, settling back into her own chair and lifting her chin, surveying his openness. “But I hope you’re not entertaining some silly notion that you’ll be alone forever.”

“Riza-”

“Ed loves you. He’s not one to give up and run when things get hard, as we’ve all seen over so many years. Stop thinking the worst and just trust him. He’ll be back. He always is.”

“I know that.”

“So what’s the problem? You look like someone burnt your house down.”

He smiles, mind flashing back to last month when Ed had nearly done the very same in trying to cook a new recipe. “Not likely.”

“He’s only been gone a week. It’s a straight-forward mission. He’s probably already on his way home.”

“I know, Riza; logically, I know that. I know he loves me, I know he wouldn’t just up and leave without saying something first, I know he’s coming home. But I just...” he runs the tip of his tongue across the inside of his bottom lip, eyes drifting to the drops of coffee that had somehow migrated to the ceiling as he tries to gather his words. “I don’t know. I’m not sure. It’s just... a kind of limbo, without him here. The days are just... days. There’s no fire to them. I’m just waiting.”

She sighs, putting her sandwich down on a napkin waiting on her desk, crossing one leg over the other. “What do you think he’s doing right now?”

“Tearing a building down solely for the purpose of frustrating whichever authority figure pointed out his less-than-average height, most likely,” he says, leaning back into the chair and rolling his shoulders back. “Causing trouble.”

Riza chuckles under her breath, nodding. “Most likely.” She pauses, glancing out the window. “I meant literally. Logistically, considering the mission he has, what do you think he’s doing right this second?”

Roy shrugs, folding his arms across his chest and feeling the thick gold stitching of his uniform under his fingertips, like a coarse comfort blanket. “Well, it was only an inspection job of the new alchemical lab that’s been set up on the outskirts of West City. He would’ve taken the train in, eaten and gone to bed for the first day. God knows that’s how he spends most of them. The days, I mean,” he murmurs, smiling to himself. “Three days, maybe, to inspect the place, get off-track in helping some experiments. If there were no issues, then it would be another day to get back here. Five days. He’d already be back.”

“That doesn’t mean something went wrong, Roy.”

“No, I know, but...” He closes his eyes, nodding and trying to force that very same latent panic to subside. “Knowing him, he’d hang around longer to investigate the town, cause trouble, stick his nose in places it doesn’t belong. Show up the brass. That could take a day or two.”

Riza stands up, throwing the napkin into the trash and reaching for a pile of documents she’d moved to Ed’s empty desk while her own was full. “Which means?”

“Seven days. Which is yesterday. So, he’s either already here or on the train.”

“So?”

“It’s fine.”

“It’s fine,” she repeats, smiling. “You can go home early if you must, but if not, there is a week’s worth of paperwork which you have been ignoring, sir. Don’t think I haven’t noticed.”

He groans, standing up and nudging Havoc’s chair under his desk with his foot. “I’m on it, Lieutenant.” Turning to head back into his office, he pauses with his hand on the door, head tilted to the side. “Thank you, Riza.”

“Not a problem. Do your work.”

* * *

Roy does go home an hour early, in the end. By the time Riza had come to check on him at five to ask if there were any last-minute emergencies to handle, he’d read a whopping total of three documents, coloured in his thumb-nail, stained the desk when trying to clean off the ink, and fallen off his chair twice.

Pushing open his front door, he hangs his coat on the rack beside the entrance and sighs. Half a second later, a crash echoes throughout the house, originating from the kitchen, and he reacts. Glove on, bags dropped, he races to follow the noise and very nearly scorches the ends of Ed’s hair when he meets him in the hall. Then he stops, peels the glove off, and shoves it in his pocket, a smile growing on his face.

“Fullmetal,” he murmurs, eyes meeting the golden ones before him, shining amidst a mess of white dust on the man’s face.

“Shut up, bastard, I’m not a State Alchemist anymore.”

More silence and a grin appears on Ed’s face, glittering and blinding and settling his uneasy stomach. He reaches his hand out and strokes a thumb, surprisingly gentle, down Roy’s cheek. “You’ve got ink on your face,” he mutters, smile turning into a frown before the thumb returns to the owner, is licked, and reapplied. “How’d that happen?”

Roy closes his fingers over the hand on his face, cradling it and running his own thumb over the skin it finds. “It's good to see you.”

Ed smiles again, softer this time, and brushes a sleeve over his face to remove some of the white powder. “You too,” he replies, eyes crinkled in a smile. He clears his throat, eyes rolling and head turning towards the kitchen. “You might change your mind when you see what I did to your shit though.”

“What did you do? And what’s all this on your face?” Roy asks, hands coming up to brush flecks away. “Is this flour?”

Ed snorts, turning and walking back into the kitchen. When he follows, Roy sees the only logical thing that could’ve come from Ed’s return home – a catastrophic mess. The entire kitchen is covered with a thin sheen of the same flour, the sink is full of burnt dishes and what could arguably be called ‘cookies’ if a very loose version of the term was applied. Worst is the splatter of melted chocolate on the floor, emptied and slowly leaking out from the bowl that had previously contained it.

Roy licks his bottom lip, takes a slow breath, and turns to the angelic, innocent, forged smile plastered on Ed’s face.

“Do you still love me?”

“Always,” Roy answers, reaching for him and wiping up a drop of chocolate thrown onto his shirt, showing Ed the remains on the tip of his index finger. “Even after you ruined my kitchen. You’re cleaning it up, though.”

Ed groans, head thrown back as he petulantly stamps his foot. “That’s not fair! You’re the one with alchemy.”

Roy shrugs and sticks his finger in his mouth, sucking off the chocolate. He glances at the room. “You’re the one who made a mess.”

With a smirk, Ed presses a hand up against Roy’s chest and runs it down, torturously slow, to his abdomen, fingers lightly digging in. “Do I get help if I make another one?”

“You’re devious,” Roy laughs, hand closing over the one drifting round to his hip, feeling the progress of the fingers working to pull out the hem of his shirt from his pants. “Evil, even. Utterly ruinous.”

“I’ll ruin you,” Ed growls, using both hands and more force.

“That line was terrible, Edward.”

“You’re terrible. I’ll do it, I’ll ruin you, and this fucking... shirt. Goddamn it, do they glue this shit down?” He digs his fingers in harder and Roy inhales sharply at the sudden wave of desire that hits him. “Help me out?”

“Upstairs.”

“Upstairs works,” Ed says. He stops, glancing over Roy’s shoulder. “We leaving that shit for later?”

“Tomorrow,” Roy murmurs, running his own hand down Ed’s waist. “Do it tomorrow. I don’t care. It’s good to see you, but you’re wearing far too many clothes for my taste. Clean tomorrow, sex now.”

Ed snorts, slapping at Roy’s searching fingers and scratching his own into the base of Roy’s neck, arms hooked around his shoulders. “Do I get a kiss first?”

“For ruining my kitchen? Not a chance, Elric.”

Ed sticks his bottom lip out, blinking slowly. Roy laughs, pulls the younger man close, and captures that lip with his own.

It starts out slow, caring, gentle. He presses his mouth against Ed’s calmly, melting into the warmth of hands on his face, thumbs digging delicately into the grooves behind his ears. His lips move, Ed’s slightly dry from leftover flour but soft as anything. When they part, Roy slips his tongue in and takes control, relishing in the fight for dominance that comes with almost every kiss he shares with Ed. He pulls away for a second, watching the spreading flush on his cheeks, and grins.

“I love you,” he whispers, hands tightening on his waist. Ed’s mouth closes for a second and then opens again, his own smile widening.

“I love you too. Upstairs?”

“Upstairs.”

He tenses his muscles and lifts Ed into his arms, feeling the heavy weight of metal and flesh legs wrapping around his waist. He grunts when the automail first settles, shifts his weight, and starts to move, one foot in front of the other. Ed lifts his face up and connects their lips again, not wasting any time before he closes his teeth over Roy’s bottom lip and pulls, gentler than anything else he’s ever done. It’s a trick Roy taught him a long time ago but that he remembered, finding enjoyment in the reaction it always draws.

And it does. Roy gasps out an unintentional moan, nails digging into the flesh revealed where Ed’s shirt hangs open. He pauses in his steps long enough to press Ed up against the wall, fast and sudden and pushing a grunt out of him before he tips his head and connects his lips and teeth with that expanse of smooth, golden skin Ed likes to call his neck.

All of a sudden, Ed freezes, hands scrambling. “Wait, wait,” he mumbles, pushing against Roy’s chest. He lets him down, setting his feet gently on the ground and waiting, worried he’d pushed for something Ed hadn’t been expecting or crossed an invisible line. “I need to turn the oven off.”

Roy sighs, laughing and nodding. “Yes, do that.” He releases his grip, shoving him back in the direction of the kitchen. “Don’t burn the house down again.”

“’Again’. Please. At most I scorched the floor a little,” Ed smirks over his shoulder, disappearing through the doorway. “You go upstairs!” he calls out. “I’m gonna make sure nothing dangerous is left out. Don't wanna step on knives in the middle of the night.”

"You put knives on the floor?"

"I ran out of counter space after the eighth failed batch. Just go upstairs!"

“Sure?” he calls back, eyes skimming to the front entrance to double check he’d actually closed the door in his panic to find the danger.

Ed’s face appears from around the doorway, grinning and golden and nodding. “Yeah, you go settle in. I’ll come to join you as soon as I’m sure I’m not gonna kill those imaginary kids you keep talking about.”

Roy rolls his eyes, already backing away. “Once. Once I mentioned that. And I didn’t say I wanted kids. I wasn’t pushing. I just asked if you wanted them one day.”

“Two seconds after you came inside me, yes, I remember,” Ed laughs, disappearing again. “Kids aren’t sexy, Roy. Go to bed.”

“Yes, sir,” he mutters under his breath, turning and taking the stairs two steps at a time. When he gets to the bedroom, he stands and stares at the bed for a few seconds before he takes any action. Clean sheets – he’d only changed them the day before – and at least this morning he’d made it before he left for work. He steps over to the bedside table, opening a drawer and making sure condoms and lube are fully stocked and in easy access. Before he can move, a hand comes down quick on his ass and he shouts out in surprise.

Spinning around, he lets the hand stay resting on his lower back when he sees Ed’s smirking face. “Hey,” Ed murmurs, other hand coming round to settle on Roy’s ass and pulling him close.

“Hello, Edward. Warn me next time, please.”

“Next time?” Ed asks, smirk falling away and shock playing a pretty picture on the flushed face. “What do you mean, next time?”

Roy takes his opportunity to smirk, running his own hands up Ed’s arms and settling on his neck. “If you want to do that, you need only to ask.”

Ed blinks. “You want me to spank you?”

“I wouldn’t be... opposed if you wanted to,” Roy answers, face settling in a calm smile. Ed is young, inexperienced, and as much as he often insists otherwise, uneducated - particularly in regards to sex. It's easy to forget that, and Roy always tries to address new situations as openly as possible.

“You want me to spank you.” It’s a statement this time, not a question, and Roy recognises the difference.

“Yes, if you want to.” A pause, silent and unmoving. “Edward. Hey. Ed.” Eyes snap up to meet his, suddenly focused and determined. “I’m not asking you to do anything you don’t want to. It is something I have been known to enjoy, yes, but I am not expecting it or asking for-“

“I want to.”

Roy snaps his mouth shut. “You-“

“I want to... to, um, to spank you. If you’re sure you want me to. I never thought...” Ed trails off, eyes glazing over again. His lips part, moving minutely as if he’s working his words out. For someone with so much to say, he has surprisingly few ways of structuring his thoughts when he’s startled. “It’s not something I... considered. Ever. Like, I knew some people like that shit but I never thought I would. And that... when I... you know, it was just supposed to be a joke, but you said- when you- and I just... I mean... I didn’t think I’d like it but I kinda did and I want to. If you do too. Do- do you? Want to?”

Roy smiles, taking a breath and tipping his head down to press a quick kiss to Ed’s lips. “Yes. I want to.”

“Now?”

“Do you want to now?”

“Kind of. Is this weird?”

“No,” Roy grins, hand slipping into Ed’s hair, uncoiling the band that secures it and running his fingers through the freed strands. “It’s not weird. It’s new. You can do whatever you want.”

“Now now or, like, in a few minutes now?” Ed asks, frowning. “Like, if I did it right this second, is that okay, or do you wanna... do you want to, like, strip first?”

“Whatever you-“ He’s cut off by a tap to his ass, inhaling sharply and blinking down at Ed’s tentative expression. He smirks. “You can do better than that.”

Ed pouts, exaggerated and far too appealing, fingers trailing to Roy’s front and fumbling to yank his shirt from the restraints of his belt. “I don’t wanna hurt you.”

“You won’t. I’m not made of glass, Edward, I won’t break.”

A glare meets his eyes and a hand meets the fabric covering his left ass cheek at a higher speed, stronger than before. He grunts, eyes closing as he drops his head. “Okay,” he murmurs, adrenaline spiking. Eyes open again and he looks at the shocked expression Ed has, eyes wide and pupils dilated. Roy licks his lips and smiles, unbuckling his belt and loosening the hold it has on his shirt. Ed’s hands finally meet his skin, nails scratching at scar tissue. “Ed?”

“Yeah?”

“I’m going to kiss you now.”

“Please.”

Their lips meet and Roy lets himself submit to the sensation of touch. Ed’s hands, calloused and strong, hike up his shirt enough that he can map out scars and muscles. His own hands are fumbling for the buttons at the front of Ed’s shirt, loosening them one by one. He presses Ed back until his knees hit the mattress and he falls into a seating position on the edge of the bed.

Roy pulls away with a gasp when Ed drags his nails down his back, taking a second to recover before straddling Ed’s waist and finally opening the shirt buttons, pushing the material away from the expanse of skin it hides. Scar tissue mottles the skin, scattered in various places across his torso and arms, but it tells a story. The white and pink lines, masses, shapes, they scream of Ed’s successes, his failures, and his determination. He digs a thumb into the spot at the base of his collarbone and listens with glee at the gasp he draws out.

“Get this fucking thing off,” Ed growls, pulling at the fabric of Roy’s uniform shirt. Roy releases his hold on Ed to pull it off himself, dropping it to the floor behind him and pushing Ed back against the bed, leaning over him.

“You’re beautiful,” he murmurs, running a fingertip down the middle of Ed’s chest. “Even if you do only have one nipple.”

Ed snorts, slapping Roy’s chest and throwing his head to the side with laughter. “You asshole! It’s not exactly my fault.”

“I know, I know, it’s adorable, you’re just so...” he trails off, spreading his hand out and rubbing his thumb over the nipple that does exist still on the left side of his chest. Ed closes his mouth over a moan that threatens to escape. Roy smirks. With so much scar tissue, they’d discovered that all the nerves still intact were extra sensitive. They’d had a lot of fun with it in the past, but it wasn’t something Roy wanted to leave behind. He pinches the bud lightly, running his other hand up the side of Ed’s neck and watching his eyes flutter shut when he hums in response. “Perfect. You’re perfect.”

“I’m not.”

“You are, Edward, and I’ll make you believe it.”

Ed’s eyes open, golden and mischievous. “I’m not. You are.”

Roy grins, shrugging and releasing his grip. He leans down, pressing a kiss to the abused nub and flicking his tongue out to meet it. “Yeah, I know. We both are.” He snorts in laughter, leaning his forehead against Ed’s chest when the younger man slaps his arm again.

“You’re an ass.”

“You love my ass,” Roy answers, pulling on Ed’s hand and setting it on the body part in question. “Don’t lie, I know how you really feel. You only love me for my glorious body.”

“You’re a pretentious, cocky, narcissistic ass, Roy.”

“Say it,” he replies in a murmur, eyes skimming back up to meet Ed’s.

“Say what?”

“You love me.”

Ed smiles softly, eyes crinkling and head tilting against the sheets. The spare hand, the one not still resting on Roy’s behind, slides up to cup his cheek. Roy leans into it, closing his eyes for a second and tilting his face to press a gentle kiss to the heel of his hand. “I love you.” A pause and a smirk. “And your ass.”

Roy grins wide, leaning forward and capturing the giggling lips. He presses gently, coaxing them to part and running the tip of his tongue over the bottom one before enclosing it with his own and sucking. Ed sighs, hands tightening in their grip as the kiss deepens, tongues clashing and teeth clacking slightly in their distracted focus.

Ed’s hand comes down hard against the meat of Roy’s thigh, lower than the other slaps and burning stronger. Roy’s mouth parts wider, breaking away and moaning uncontrollably before continuing. He lowers one hand and grinds the heel of his palm into Ed’s crotch, receiving his own barely-restrained gasp of arousal. He lets his mouth drift, pressing a trail of kisses from Ed’s mouth to his ear and down his neck, biting down and sucking a deep purple bruise there, right where everyone will be able to see it come morning. Where everyone will know exactly the type of welcome Ed received when he arrived back in Central. Where everyone will be thinking about the kind of moans Ed is releasing right now into Roy’s ear, loud and unhindered as Roy licks over the mark he’s left behind.

“You’re an ass for that, too,” he mumbles between returning kisses.

“Why? You love it.”

“Yeah, but everyone’s gonna see that shit. It’s too high, I can’t hide it.”

“That’s-“ Another slap hits hard; Roy shouts out, biting down on Ed’s shoulder. “-the point,” he continues, pulling back and watching the expression that appears when he slowly pulls on the zip of Ed’s pants. “I want them to know you’re mine,” he whispers into Ed’s ear, licking the lobe gently and nibbling. Ed whimpers and he smiles against his skin, pressing a series of gentle kisses there.

Ed digs his fingers in, using the weight of his automail leg to flip them over and drag his nails down Roy’s front, hard. The sting settles in, intensified when a flat hand runs over the lines left behind, and he exhales sharply when Ed grinds down against his crotch, giving him the relief he’d been starved for. “I don’t belong to anyone, asshole, I’m my own.”

“Yeah, you are.”

Ed blinks, pausing and smiling. “You’re terrible.”

“I am.”

Another pause, the bright smile growing wider. Ed’s fingers splay out and Roy watches the gold eyes trail over him. Most people, from what he’s gathered out of years of experience, feel uncomfortable under such a scrutinous gaze. If you leave them watched so obviously for long enough, they’ll do something – anything – to distract your eyes. It’s an insecurity that most people have, whether they’re beautiful or not. Roy doesn’t feel that. It’s not narcissism (although Ed would argue otherwise), and it’s not a kind of confidence in his appearance. He knows he looks good; he’s had enough people tell him, with varying intensity, to believe it. But it’s not that, never that.

It’s the fact that it’s Ed. He feels safe under Ed’s gaze, secure. Beautiful. In a way he never has before. And the look on Ed’s face when his lips part and he visibly swallows, eyes and hands roaming over his chest, makes even the slightest hint of concern disappear.

“I love you,” he says, snapping Ed’s eyes back up to him. “You know that, right?”

“From the amount you’ve said it tonight? Yeah, bastard.” He grinds down again and Roy’s eyes flutter for a second, waves of pleasure rushing over him. “Shut up and let me show you how much I missed you.”

Roy’s heart flutters this time, and he grins, hands resting on hips. “You missed me?”

Ed rolls his eyes, methodically unbuckling Roy’s pants and reaching for various zips on the irritatingly-designed uniform that remains on his body. “’Course I missed you.” He smirks, fingers slipping painfully slowly under the waistband of Roy’s underwear, skimming sensitive skin and making him shiver. “I’m gonna pretend I don’t know how much you missed me too.”

Roy scoffs, running his thumb in circles. “I didn’t miss the mess, that’s for sure.”

Ed hums, eyebrows raised. “Sure you didn’t.”

“Yeah. I didn’t miss you at all. Almost forgot you even existed.”

“Uh huh.”

“Didn’t miss you. Not in the slightest. How many days was it?”

Nails dig in, Ed leans forward, hair falling over his shoulders and tickling Roy’s chest. He stares up innocently, blank smile meeting Ed's devious smirk. “You probably counted the minutes. Sat at your desk all week and did no work. Pouting.” A finger comes up and rests on Roy’s bottom lip, light and barely pressing at all. “Suffering. Desperate for me to come home. Brooding all day and annoying Hawkeye.”

“Hawkeye loves me, I couldn’t annoy her.”

Ed snorts, wide smile releasing peals of laughter as he braces himself against Roy, shaking. “That-“ He cuts himself off, giggling almost. Roy can’t restrain himself, smiling back and running his fingers through tangled hair. “That’s the best one yet, Roy. God, she probably hates you after this week.”

Roy smiles fondly, eyes following the glimmer of light that shines past his fingers, making Ed glow and beam like a beacon in a distant harbour. He calls him home, always; makes him safe, always. “She loves me. She let me come home early and everything.”

“Wow, you really must have been pining.”

Roy sticks his bottom lip out, blinking wide eyes slowly. “I don’t pine.”

Ed hums again, lifting his hips and dragging Roy up. “Sure you don’t. Now get these damn pants off, I wanna suck you off.”

“How could I refuse such a romantic declaration?” Roy replies, standing and pushing his pants down, kicking them off his feet and resting a hand on Ed’s shoulder so he doesn’t trip over himself in the process. “Be still, my pounding heart.”

“Shut up! Words are your thing, asshole.”

Roy hums, letting Ed peel his underwear away and watching the awed expression when he gently runs his fingers over Roy’s cock, hard and waiting. “Like how I know how pretty you’ll look with your mouth around me? Golden boy, swallowing me down that beautiful throat of yours?” He runs a finger down the length of said throat, smirking when Ed shivers.

He glares at him and pushes him back onto the bed, straddling his hips and grinding down. Roy groans at the feeling of the head of his cock rubbing against the tough material of the leather pants Ed still insists on wearing, head thrown back into the sheets beneath him.

“This feels unfair,” he murmurs when Ed starts to make his way down his chest via his mouth, sucking a nipple into his mouth and nibbling before leaving a trail of wet kisses down his abdomen. His hands, somehow soft and tough at the same time, are braced against his hips, pressing hard enough to leave bruises come morning. “You’re still wearing far too many clothes, Edward.” Hair tickles his skin when Ed bends to suck a bruise into the dip of muscle at his waist. He reaches his hands out, searching fingers running over smooth skin as he tries to grab at Ed’s pants, arms not quite long enough. “Take them off.”

“Not yet.”

“Take. Them. Off.”

Ed lifts his head, meeting Roy’s eyes and blinking, face showing a little shock and pupils dilated. “Okay, as much as I know you know I love that, no. Not yet. I wanna focus on you.”

“I want you naked too.”

“You’ll get it,” Ed smirks, still watching as he leans down and licks a stripe up the underside of Roy’s dick. Despite the urge to settle in and close his eyes, Roy keeps them trained on Ed, watching those pretty lips meet the skin at the base and feeling the tongue between them flick out. “Just gotta wait.”

“I-“ he gasps when Ed licks up again, direct and abrupt and so very him. “I don’t think I can wait too long, Ed. I missed you.”

“I thought you didn’t,” Ed murmurs against the skin of his inner thigh, sucking a bruise into the sensitive flesh and making him shiver. “Thought you said you didn’t miss me.”

“I always miss you. Even if- oh, fuck.”

Ed encases the head of his dick with his mouth, suckling gently and swirling his tongue in a way he knows drives him crazy. Roy can’t help but reach down, carding fingers through hair to clear his view of the bright eyes staring straight back up at him, an innocence that should be kept far from any kind of situation like this.

He lifts his head up again, licking up a drop of pre-come at the tip and smiling with that same innocence. “Even if what?”

“Even if you’re being a brat, Ed. Come on, that feels so good,” he asks, shifting his hips back against the mattress and earning a raised eyebrow. “Please.”

The smile that he receives wraps around him, wet heat tightening and Ed’s tongue pressed up against the sensitive spot at the underside of the head. He groans out, fingers tightening over the hair caught in them and pulling gently. When Ed hums as a response, Roy gasps out, eyes slipping shut and head falling back. “Oh, God, Ed.”

When he lifts his eyes again, the sight that greets him is sinful. Ed on his knees is always a glorious sight; he always manages to combine his innocence with his ferocity in a way that would bring Roy to his knees if it were possible. At this moment, however, the hollowed cheeks and intense focus he sees on Ed’s face, eyes almost crossed in their concentration on the cock before him, everything combines to make the intensity of Ed slowly moving his head down the length of his dick all the more powerful.

The spare hand, the one not wrapped around him, trails up to his stomach, tracing lines of muscle and blindly identifying numb scar tissue. Roy doesn't even try to restrain the quiver of his abdomen; the effort it takes not to thrust up into that perfect mouth overpowers any wish at hiding how good he feels.

By the time he’s given into the odd gentle thrust, fingers shaking in their loose grip of Ed’s head, he’s muttering out an incoherent string of curses and begging pleas. Pleasure is burning through him faster than a fire spreads, and all of a sudden he’s far too close to the edge. “Oh... God, fuck, Ed, I- I- I’m gonna... Ed, stop. Stop!”

Ed immediately pulls off, face flushed and concerned. Roy would not admit to the whimper that escapes him then, held back so close to release. His eyebrows are furrowed in the focus it takes to contain himself, hold back the orgasm he knows is a hair’s breadth away. He leans into the hand that cups his cheek, focusing on it instead of anything else. Slowly, he opens his eyes and meets the worried gaze leaning over him. “Are you okay? What’s wrong?”

Roy smiles, shaking his head and pulling Ed down by his hair. Their lips meet and he can taste himself. It’s something he’d never enjoyed before, strived to avoid in previous relationships. But, for some unexplainable reason, the taste of himself on Ed’s lips is better than any drug, any drink. And those lips are swollen slightly from their labour, and the tentative press of them against his own make him hum in approval.

“I’m okay,” he murmurs after pulling away, smiling softly at Ed. “I was just too close. Didn’t want to finish yet.”

Ed glares at him. “You worried me! Asshole. I wanted to make you come.”

“I want to fuck you first. I’m not as young as you, I don’t have your stamina,” he whispers, finally reaching for Ed’s pants and yanking the zip further down. “Take these off now?”

“You’re an ass.”

“Agreed. Get these off so I can fuck you.”

Ed kneels up, shoving the pants and his underwear to his knees in one quick movement and rolling onto his back to kick them off his feet. A few seconds later and he gives up, peeling them off with his hands and kicking them off the edge of the bed. Roy smirks at him. “Shut up.”

“I didn’t say anything!”

“You were gonna.”

“I was not ‘gonna’. You’re adorable.”

“Ass. Where’s the lube? I want your dick in me.”

Roy smiles wider, turning and reaching for the bedside table. “Ah, yes, that romanticism is back. How will I-“

“Shut up!”

“-ever contain myself?”

A hand comes down against his ass, hard and loud; the skin-to-skin contact making him shudder as he clutches at the sheets, head dropped against his chest and shuddering out a groan. “Oh, wow,” Ed mutters, crawling up the bed behind him and grabbing at his hips. “You really like that.”

“I like you.”

“Yeah, but...” he trails off, and the hand comes down again. Roy’s eyes slip shut, and he props himself up on his elbows, the bottle of lube clutched in one hand and ass clenching against the subtle throb of pain. “You really like it. Like, really really.”

“Do it again,” he whispers, feeling nerves thrum through him for the first time in a long time. “Please.”

He arches his back when it comes again, releasing a moan at the burn that settles in. Over the next few minutes, slaps come in faster succession and over both cheeks and the backs of his thighs. By the time Ed’s rubbing a hand soothingly against the scorched skin, he’s whimpering, face pressed against the sheets and fingers twitching. He hasn’t felt this calm, quiet, young, in a long time. He hasn’t been treated like this in a long time, but with Ed, it does something more than he’s ever really experienced. The worries, concerns, anxieties he’s been feeling over the last few weeks melt away and he sighs, eyes fluttering.

“We need to talk about this, Roy,” Ed murmurs quietly, leaning over and gently pressing a kiss to the small of his back. “Later. Okay?”

“Uh huh,” Roy replies quietly, peeling his eyes open and flexing his hands. He hums, slowly pushing himself back up. He can feel his face burning, and he tries to ignore the rumbling feelings of worry that stabbed into him with those words – as if Ed suddenly doesn’t want him any more.

“You okay?”

He hums again, frowning. “Yeah, I...” He winces, sitting back against the pillows and reaching for Ed. “Yeah, I’m okay. Sorry.”

Ed frowns this time, head tilting like a puppy. “For what?”

“I... forgot, I suppose, how much that affects me. I should have warned you. It... I’m sorry if I worried you.”

“Hell no,” Ed smirks, straddling his waist and cradling the hands that close over his own hips. “That was hot. I’ve never seen you lose control like that. You go all... melty and shit. Adorable. It was awesome. We just gotta talk about it before we do it again so I don’t hurt you. Your ass is red as fuck right now is all. You sure you’re okay?”

“Yes,” he smiles softly, pulling Ed into him and pressing his lips carefully against his shoulder. “I’m very okay.”

“Okay. Can you fuck me now?”

Roy grins at the innocent, pleading expression that takes over Ed’s face. “Of course I can, baby.”

The innocence turns to disgust, and Ed grabs for the lube and rolls onto his back, away from him. “I hate you.”

“No, you don’t.”

“Pet names are gross.”

“No, they’re not.”

Ed glares, popping the bottle cap and squeezing the contents out onto his fingers before locking eye contact with Roy and reaching behind himself. His heart hammers in his chest as he watches Ed’s finger slowly breach the ring of muscle, the slack look on his face and the tiny, breathy whimper he releases. He can feel his own desire burning as hard as his ass, need buried deep inside him and scratching for relief. Ed’s eyes flutter shut when he finally sinks in to the knuckle, twisting the finger and slowly pulling it out again.

“Can I?” Roy asks, leaning forward. Ed glares at him.

“No.”

He gapes, watching the finger start to move faster and listening to the puff of breath Ed quickly exhales. “Please?”

“No. It’s punishment.”

“For what?”

“For the pet name.”

He raises his eyebrows, watching the muscles in Ed’s right thigh tense and quiver. “Alright, then,” he murmurs, gently shifting in his position and very obviously reaching for his cock, enclosing it delicately with his fingers. “Give us a show, babe.”

Ed pauses, eyes glazing over as he takes in Roy’s actions. The eyes on him send a pulse of electricity through him – aside from the safety and the calm he feels under Ed’s eyes, it also makes him excited. Like he’s the centre of attention, he’s the focal point of Ed’s mind and the most important thing to him at that moment.

His eyes focus again, locking onto Roy’s as he pushes a second finger into himself. He bites down on his bottom lip, eyelashes fluttering but gaze still trained on Roy’s hand moving at a snail’s pace on his cock; enough to cause flashes of heat through his core but not enough to send him teetering off the edge. Minutes pass, and eventually, Ed looks like he’s rocking back and forth across the line, fingers pumping fast and hard and crooking at angles that make him moan to himself.

“Roy...” he mumbles, eyes slipping shut when the third finger slips in. “I think I’m... I don’t...”

“You can come if you want to, Edward,” he answers, letting go of himself and reaching out to Ed, fingers trailing over his shivering abdomen and pulling a louder moan from him. He looks up at him with hooded eyes, golden skin flushed pink all the way from his cheeks to his chest. “Do you want to come now or with me inside you?”

“I... oh, God.” Roy smiles, letting his hand settle on Ed’s cock; it’s flushed dark, untouched and begging for attention. Ed whimpers, pausing in his actions and curling his fingers repeatedly. He whines, his other hand grabbing at Roy’s wrist. “I... I can’t. I can’t. Please.”

“What do you want?”

“Please.”

“Use your words, Edward.”

Ed groans, kicking metal against the sheets and grimacing. “Fucking fuck me, asshole! Come on, I can’t reach!”

Roy smirks, watching Ed pull his fingers free and wipe them on the sheets. He reaches for the lube, squirts a little on his own fingers, and slowly slips one into Ed. The muscle is looser but he can feel Ed pushing down on his hand, clenching around him. “It’s okay,” he murmurs, kissing the thick line of scar tissue between soft flesh and cool metal.

“I hate you,” Ed growls, scratching at his wrist. “Come on! Give me more, I can take it.”

“I’ve got you.”

Roy slips another finger in quickly, curling them together and searching for the spot Ed had been unable to reach.

“I hate you.” Ed rolls his head back, hair tangled in his own fingers as he gasps out a choked moan. “I hate you so much.”

“No, you don’t.”

“Yes, I do. You’re fucking... teasing me, I hate you, I- fuck! There! Right there, please, please, please, Roy, I love you, right there!” Ed shouts out, flesh leg flying out and hooking itself over Roy’s shoulder, toes digging sharply into his back. “Oh, God.”

Roy smirks, pulling his fingers out and quickly thrusting them back in with a third. He crooks them directly into the same spot, watching and listening to Ed shout and moan; delicious noises that make all this loneliness and worry disappear. Golden skin and eyes and hair, all under his gaze and molten, just like Ed is melting under his hands.

“I love you so much, oh my God,” Ed mumbles, arm thrown over his face. “Roy?”

“Yes, honey?”

“Please get your dick in me right now before I replace you with a vibrator.”

Roy snorts, dropping his forehead down onto Ed’s thigh. He presses a kiss there, then another, then a third, and then he starts trailing them up to his stomach, his chest, his neck, his mouth. He claims the latter with his own, pressing hard and biting. His tongue slips in and explores every corner, every edge. Ed’s hand comes up and grabs at his shoulder, his cheek; he holds on tight and gasps into Roy’s mouth when he slowly pulls his fingers out.

Roy starts to pull away, dragging his sticky fingers over the sheets and wiping them relatively clean as he swings his arms out, scrabbling for the bedside table.

“No, Roy, come back.”

“I’m just getting a condom, give me a second.”

“No.”

He pauses, eyes settling on the packet. “No?”

“No. I wanna feel you. I...” Ed sighs, sliding his hand over the sensitive skin of Roy’s ass and up to his waist before leaning over and whispering into his ear. “I want you to fill me up.”

“Yeah?”

Ed hums, biting gently against the back of his shoulder blade and running his tongue over the bite. “Yeah. Fill me up, daddy.”

Roy groans, slapping his hand away. “Please don’t.”

“No?”

He laughs, shaking his head and reaching for Ed again, repositioning him with his head against the pillows, hair splayed out beneath him. He looks like an angel in this light, all silver and gold and perfectly imperfect. Smiling and flushed. “No. I know your daddy issues don’t stretch that far.”

Ed scoffs, rolling his eyes. “I don’t have daddy issues, bastard.”

“Yes you do, Edward. I’ve seen how you interacted with your father.”

“That doesn’t mean I have daddy issues. And please don’t bring up that bastard before you stick your dick in me.”

“Uh huh,” Roy murmurs, hiking the automail leg up and digging his fingers into the scar tissue that connect it to the flesh of Ed’s thigh. Ed hums in response, shifting his hips. “I’m going to fuck you now.”

Before Ed can answer, he presses his cock up against him and pushes in slowly. Ed cries out, hands scrambling for purchase and settling on Roy’s hair, yanking on it hard enough that his head settles into the crook of his neck. His lips rest there, but not really kissing. Instead, his focus is on not thrusting too hard or too fast into the tight heat slowly engulfing him, clenching down on him and sending ripples of agonising pleasure through his core and shocks down his spine. He shifts forward as slowly as he can physically withstand, sinking in inch by inch into Ed and feeling the younger man’s heartbeat thrumming right up against his own.

He eventually settles in, as deep as he can get, and focuses instead on connecting his lips with Ed’s. They kiss softly, gently, with no real sense of urgency or rush. Ed taps him gently with one finger and he starts to slowly pull back out, rolling his hips and swallowing the moan he draws from it.

“You okay?” he murmurs, pulling back and watching the micro-expressions of pleasure and happiness and overwhelmed relief that flash over Ed’s face. When his eyes open, pupils dilated enough that his irises are only thin gold rings around blackness, Roy grins, grinding down harder and watching the flecks of light glitter.

Ed throws his hips into Roy’s, meeting his thrusts and grabbing at his shoulders, nails scratching haphazardly at every inch of skin they find. Changing the angle slightly, he tries again, and Ed’s eyes fly open on a loud moan, almost a scream. “Oh, fuck! Fuck, fuck, shit, yes! Roy, right there!”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, please, please, harder.”

“Anything for you.”

He pulls out slowly until only the head of his dick is resting heavy inside Ed, tenses his muscles, and thrusts back in as hard as he can, setting a pace. Ed gasps for breath and then lets out a series of shouts and choked moans loud enough that he has to take an internal moment to mourn for his long-dead relationship with his neighbours. He’s almost certain that when they moved in and scoured the area, the child-friendly school areas and surrounding parks were what they were searching for, not an intimate knowledge of what the Fullmetal Alchemist sounds like in bed.

Roy, however, relishes in those sounds.

Before long, the heat inside him has grown to a point where his thrusts are uneven and he can feel even the last remaining stressors starting to melt away. Ed is whimpering into his neck, slurring curses and begging for more.

“I’m close,” Roy mutters to him, voice strained and forced. He meets wide eyes.

“Me... oh, God, me too. Come on, I- I- I wanna feel you.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah. I love you.”

“I-”

Ed shouts out again, gasping and blinking rapidly. “Oh, fuck, I’m gonna... Roy!”

Roy glances down, watching Ed release onto both their stomachs, fast and hot and beautifully loud. His face is a masterpiece of passion and relief, and his fists are clenching and unclenching against the sheets. Roy grunts when Ed bears down against him and gasps when his eyes open and a hand comes up to grasp the side of his face. “Come for me,” he murmurs and shudders when Roy rolls his hips. “Come on.”

“I... oh, God, Ed, I’m so close,” he rambles.

“Come on, keep going,” Ed whispers, gasping at a particularly rough thrust and digging his fingertips into his shoulder. “Come on, I wanna feel you.”

Roy shouts out, eyes squeezing shut and head dropping down to bite against Ed’s collar. He groans against the skin and thrusts once, twice, and then feels himself implode, light sparking in the backs of his eyes and blood pounding in his ears.

Ed gasps against his ear but he’s sky-high, brain shut down and body shaking as wave after wave of indescribable pleasure crashes into him.

Eventually, he’s calmed down enough to slowly, gently pull himself out. He finds himself nuzzling into the hand on his face, and peels his eyes open to see the same expression on Ed’s face he has when he’s studying a new and fascinating area of alchemy. “What?” he asks, rolling onto his back and sighing into the fingers that stroke through his hair.

“I need to tell you something,” Ed answers, eyes flicking back and forth. “I don’t want you to be mad at me.”

“Never. What’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong, but...”

Roy frowns, shuffling and resting his head on his arm. “But?”

Ed takes a breath and sits upright, wringing his fingers. “I... When I got back today I was looking through your shit cuz I know you’re a lazy bastard and I figured I’d play domestic housewife and help with shit.”

“That’s why you ruined my kitchen?”

“I was trying to make shit for you. I even got the chocolate from this li- huge, enormous, giant store. Next to the lab, before I left. It was home-made and everything. Last time I try that shit.”

Roy smiles, closing his eyes. “Next time we’ll do it together.”

“And when I was rummaging through your shit I found something I don’t think you wanted me to find.”

His heart stops and his eyes snap open, smile falling off his face. “Oh.”

“I was gonna not talk about it since I figured you had a whole plan that I’m probably fucking up right now but... I love you, asshole, and I don’t wanna pretend to be surprised when you ask me.”

Roy hums, licks his lips, and looks up at the flushed and nervous expression on Ed’s face. The smile returns and he presses a kiss to the hand smoothing out the sheets. “I didn’t have a plan yet. I didn’t want to ask without talking to you about it first.”

“Yeah?”

He nods, sitting up and reaching for the bedside table again and rummaging through the bottom drawer. “Yeah. Because...” He pulls out the box he’d been hiding for weeks and clasps it in his hands, heart pounding even though he knows that logically speaking, there is no way Ed would have brought this up without already having made his mind up. There’s nothing he could say or do right now to change that, for better or worse. It’s that single-minded focus again, something he loves. “Because a proposal shouldn’t be a surprise. It should be something we’ve talked about. You shouldn’t ask someone to marry you if you don’t already know the answer. The...” He swallows, glancing up at Ed and feeling, for the first time, the impact of those laser eyes boring into him. “The concept of marriage should be something that I already know your opinion on, I should know before I ask whether it’s something you want. The proposal itself can be a surprise, but you should still know its coming. But I didn’t know how to bring it up.”

“That’s what I figured. You’re a sap,” Ed replies, making Roy smile.

“What do you think?”

“About us getting married?”

“Yes. Is it something you’d want?”

Ed inhales sharply and lies down beside Roy, resting his head on his bare thigh. He runs his fingers through the strands of sunlight pooled out on his lap, detangling a few knots. “I want to be with you forever if that’s what you’re asking,” he answers, eyes closed. Roy swipes his thumb across his forehead and he smiles in response. “I do. I love you and I want to love you for... well, for the rest of our lives. Now you’re turning me into a sap too.” He grins wider, opening his eyes and looking up at Roy. “I just don’t know if marriage is right for us. It’s... permanent, secure, it’s constant. Both of us spend so much time out of Central, in different countries, even.”

“I don’t want to tie you down. That’s not the point of it. That wouldn’t even be a part of it. That was never what I wanted.”

“I know,” Ed murmurs. “I know. You’d never try to keep me still. I know you miss me when I’m gone but you’ve never suggested I stay closer to home. You know me. That’s not what I’m worried about.”

Roy frowns, fingers pausing in their mapping of Ed’s face. “What are you worried about?”

“You. I don’t wanna tie you down either. It’s not insecurity, I’m not pathetic, I just... I know you’re not gonna fuckin’ up and leave, go fuck someone else. I know you love me too. But with your goals... I don’t wanna hold you back. The military is fucked up. It’s not exactly inclusive. If I’m just your boyfriend, the public and the brass can think it’s a phase, that you’ll move on and be a good, straight leader. If we get married, that’s not possible any more. I don’t want to be the reason you can’t be who you wanna be.”

Roy exhales, smiling. “Really?”

Ed eyes meet his and narrow into a cold glare. “You’ve got your ass face on.”

“My ass face?” Roy asks, laughing. Ed rolls his eyes.

“The face you have when you’re about to be an ass.”

“I’m not an ass.”

“We’ve already covered that you are.”

“Not.”

“Are you a fuckin’ child?” Ed laughs back, sitting up. Roy grins, shrugging. “No, I mean... your ass face. When you’re about to say something that’ll make me call you an ass.”

“I don’t make you call me an ass. You do that all by yourself.”

Ed hums, reaching over and swiping his thumb over Roy’s abdomen. “I really did make another mess,” he mumbles, pulling another bark of laughter from Roy.

He grabs his hand, clasping it and smoothing his own thumb across the skin. “I love you, Edward. And I love that you’ve thought about it so much. But that isn’t something you need to worry about.”

“No, Roy, be serious here.”

“I am.”

“No, you’re not. If we get married, you can never play it off as just a fling. The brass will see me like a rock chained to your ankle. If you manage to fix up this electoral system you’re planning, the public will think I’m a bad influence. Fuck knows I’m not a good one.”

“How many things in my past could have a negative effect on public perception?”

“Fuckin’ everything.”

“How many do? How many do I let hurt me?” Both of them remain silent and Ed swipes his tongue over his bottom lip. “I don’t have a perfect past and I’ve still managed to get where I am. Having a husband won’t change my plans, it won’t damage my future. I love you and I want to marry you, Edward. I want to show the world how much. It wouldn’t hold me back, just as much as it wouldn’t hold you back.”

“Okay.”

“And besides, I-“ He stops, frowning. “Okay?”

“Okay. I’ll marry you.”

Roy grins, dramatically clutching his chest. “Again, your romanticism stops my heart. I can’t cope!” He flops onto his back. “I’ll never recover! Such a romantic, beautiful speech could never be said again! I can’t contain myself!”

Ed slaps his arm, laughing. “It’s not like you did much better, bastard. ‘Please marry me, Edward, I love you and you won’t be as much of a ball and chain as you think you will, promise!’”

“I don’t sound like that.”

“Yeah, you do.”

Ed lies down beside him and they settle into silence for a few minutes. Roy almost thinks Ed has fallen asleep before he speaks up again. “So, can I have the ring?” He laughs again, rolling over and pressing a kiss to Ed’s neck. “What? That’s the best I can do.”

“That’s your best?”

“Yeah, that’s my best.”

“I think you can do better than that.”

“You do?”

“Go for it,” Roy dares, propping himself up on his elbows and watching Ed glare up at him. His eyes flick back and forth and his mouth opens and closes before he steels himself and sets that steel gaze on Roy once again.

“I love you. I have for years. You make me laugh even when I’m sad and you have a really nice dick,” he says, smirking at Roy’s snort. “You make me feel loved and cared for, and even when I’m not here I know I have a home wherever you are.” His finger comes up and jabs Roy in the middle of his chest. “That’s you. You are my home. You’re my centre, my rock, insert other romantic euphemisms here. You’re better than alchemy. You define me, you’re a part of me that I could never give up for anything. I love you enough to drink milk.” Roy raises his eyebrows, heart fluttering. Ed grins, wider and more honest. “I would do anything for you. Or to you, if you begged hard enough. I want to be with you forever. I want to grow old with you. I want to love you when you’re even more wrinkly and gross. You’re my everything and marrying you would be my dream. As long as you promise to be the one to tell Teacher she can’t bring a bear to the wedding. And I promise I’ll help you dig your grave.”

Roy blinks, heart pounding in the base of his throat and choking the words he wants to say out of him. Eventually, he flicks open the box, revealing the plain silver band and holding it out. “I want you to write that down for your vows, you’ll never come up with anything better.”

Ed grins, reaching up and pressing his lips to Roy’s. It’s softer than it’s been all night, almost tentative, concerned. He can feel his pulse throbbing in his own lips; Ed licks into his mouth and he hums in approval, hand skimming his waist.

Pulling back, Ed plucks the ring from the box and slips it on his finger, staring down at it with a smile. “Does this mean you’ll clean up the mess downstairs for me?”

“I never agreed to that.”

“Hey!”

"It wasn't even a proper proposal!"

"So you don't really love me?" Ed pouts dramatically, eyes sparkling. Roy grins.

“It means I’ll help. You want a shower?”

“No, I’m tired. Barely slept on the train, I wanted to see you.”

Roy hums, grabbing at Ed’s discarded shirt and using it to wipe the come from their stomachs before throwing it back to the carpet and pulling the sheets over them, mildly dirtied but warm and comforting.

“I love you, Edward.”

Ed groans, eyes closed against Roy’s chest and hair already splayed out in a way that will tickle him uncomfortably during the night. “Shut the fuck up and let me sleep, you fucked the energy out of me.”

Roy hums with a smile, watching the light glint off the silver before he leans over and flicks it off, plunging them into darkness. Ed sighs against him, and he hears a quiet rumble, vibrating against his ribs. “I love you too,” Ed mutters, rolling his palm against Roy’s hip. “And I want to fall asleep next to you forever.”

He grins wider, pulling him closer and pressing his lips to the top of his head. “Always. Whatever you want.”

Two seconds pass, and Roy feels Ed’s foot slide down his leg and freeze. “Do you still have your socks on?”

“I’m cold!”

“I take it back. I’m not marrying a man who wears socks during sex,” Ed groans, kicking him in the shin and snorting at his exclamation of pain. “You hear me?”

“I’m cold, Edward.”

Ed laughs, and Roy can feel the wide smile against his skin, lips stretched and teeth pressing against the muscle of his chest. That mouth closes, kisses and sighs. “I’m gonna marry you,” he murmurs, then smiles again. “I’m getting married. Al’s gonna lose his shit.”

“Do you care?” Roy asks, then he remembers the terrifyingly specific threats he’d received from the startlingly large number of people who Ed had adopted as siblings in his years as an alchemist. “Should I be worried?”

“No, it’s a good thing.” A pause. “We’re getting married.”

“We’re getting married,” he smirks. “Just as soon as we find somewhere that can tailor a suit small enough for you.”

Ed slaps him, letting out a laugh that melts Roy’s heart yet again. "Asshole!"

**Author's Note:**

> Marriage proposal!! It wasn't supposed to happen but I'm sure y'all know how stories get away from you and have a mind of their own. Totally worth it.
> 
> This was also my first real attempt at writing smut so I hope it isn't completely terrible and that I managed to do it justice.
> 
> PSA: Do not assume it will be safe and fine to skip a condom during sex! Talk about it first; this is a discussion to be had between consenting adults who understand the risks and are prepared to deal with it! (thank you for coming to my ted talk)
> 
> Another massive thank you to TinyInsignificantHumans for being a wonderful beta even when I have no idea what I'm doing, both while writing and in life. Definitely check out their works as well, they are also an incredible writer!
> 
> Feel free to comment or leave kudos, it keeps me thriving and alive when nothing else does. I hope you enjoyed reading!
> 
> Find me on [tumblr](https://www.tumblr.com/blog/ryanhasao3)


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